I've never encountered any other sport, especially one that is so VERY safe, that likes to emphasize planning for sever injury. I partake in many other sports which have higher risks but no other sport plan for severe in such a way.

I too would love to know what other sports you partake in where you are by yourself and has higher risks than cycling?

ozzymac wrote:I too would love to know what other sports you partake in where you are by yourself and has higher risks than cycling?

You do read the fatalities section?

I don't consider cycling a "high risk sport". The risk is not dramatically different from motoring but that is an activity that everybody in this country considers normal. Obviously there are elevated risks in both activities from sitting in your office chair but it isn't a dramatic high risk for either. There is something wrong with the attitude towards cycling if it is seen as high risk!

I cycle, my sister cycles, my mother cycles every single day. Cycling is growing and it is safe. In most other places in the world it is considered normal, certainly not high risk. I live in a suburb where a quarter of all trips are made by bike, the highest in the country.

What more dangerous sports do I partake in? Well skiing is one that I am sometimes by myself. Mountain biking. Rock climbing I have climbed in other countries with a recently met partner which I am only on first name basis with. I've hiked by myself, though it is my preference not to.

ozzymac wrote:I too would love to know what other sports you partake in where you are by yourself and has higher risks than cycling?

Hmm... not sure about the exact risk profiles but a few - surfing, para-sailing, skiing, cave-diving, rock fishing, sky-diving.... I don't do any of these personally, and some are actually a lot lower risk than most people think, but all have very significant danger involved. I'm not aware that any of them legally mandate helmet use (nor PFD use).

Re human909's comments about ID and risks. I don't carry ID because I think of cycling as being risky, I just carry ID out of simple habit - it goes with my phone and CC.

ozzymac wrote:I too would love to know what other sports you partake in where you are by yourself and has higher risks than cycling?

You do read the fatalities section?

I don't consider cycling a "high risk sport". The risk is not dramatically different from motoring but that is an activity that everybody in this country considers normal. Obviously there are elevated risks in both activities from sitting in your office chair but it isn't a dramatic high risk for either. There is something wrong with the attitude towards cycling if it is seen as high risk!

I cycle, my sister cycles, my mother cycles every single day. Cycling is growing and it is safe. In most other places in the world it is considered normal, certainly not high risk. I live in a suburb where a quarter of all trips are made by bike, the highest in the country.

What more dangerous sports do I partake in? Well skiing is one that I am sometimes by myself. Mountain biking. Rock climbing I have climbed in other countries with a recently met partner which I am only on first name basis with. I've hiked by myself, though it is my preference not to.

It is simply courtesy/convenience for paramedics/police/a bystander etc if/when you have a serious injury.

When my father was hit and killed in London, UK the police went through his phone. My mum, brother and I were all in there by our first name only. Only my uncle/his brother was in there with the same surname as him so he got the call (this was before 7/7 therefore ICE became popular). Since then all our family has ICE1..n in our phones. However, the police would not even be able to go through my phone as it is locked and encrypted (although the unlock screen does have ICE information on it, no the unencrypt screen though).

FWIW, with the last audax membership pack we got given a blank emergency contact information card. I filled it in and keep it in my wallet, or waterproof bag when riding. I lost my wallet one day and the person who found it called me using it, so, worth it.

Venus62 wrote:It's not onerous to carry ID. I would think it wise to do so in any of the sports you mention as well. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

I'd rather have a bullet proof vest and not need it rather than need it and not have it.

But it comes down to likelihood and benefit. I see VERY little benefit and VERY LOW likelihood of need. IMO, there are many dozen more items that are more usefully. But each to their own. But what I do dislike is the way "cycling is a dangerous sport" is being promoted on cycling forums.

il padrone wrote:I don't carry ID because I think of cycling as being risky, I just carry ID out of simple habit - it goes with my phone and CC.

I do too and like you it has nothing to do with risk. 99% of my rides I have my wallet on me. 99.9% of my rides I have me phone on me. Both identify me.

simonn wrote:It is simply courtesy/convenience for paramedics/police/a bystander etc if/when you have a serious injury.

I'm sorry, I don't think that is courtesy!!!! If that was the case I might as well carry my organ donor card and ensure my body is marked with appropriate "cut along the dashed line" markings to ensure speedy removal of my organs for the next deserving recipient.

Look. I partake in numerous activities of elevated risk and being prepared is important. But it is important to prepare yourself with what is appropriate, not what is inappropriate. Prevention is the number one thing, when it comes to cycling some certainly can learn ride more defensively. You also what to prepare and carry the things that are important and ignore the things that ultimate wont make a critical difference to the outcome. There are numerous items a cyclist could carry to improve safety and survivability, a road ID is not one.

But personally I treat cycling like I do driving or walking. They are low risk daily transport activities. I don't plan for injury or death while I'm driving or walking either.

Last edited by human909 on Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

simonn wrote:It is simply courtesy/convenience for paramedics/police/a bystander etc if/when you have a serious injury.

I'm sorry, I don't think that is courtesy!!!! If that was the case I might as well carry my organ donor card and ensure my body is marked with appropriate "cut along the dashed line" markings to ensure speedy removal of my organs for the next deserving recipient.

A bullet proof vest is certainly NOT onerous to carry if you need it! Which is how you worded you original argument. I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Venus62 wrote:ID, which you've then gone on to say you carry 99% of the time. Not quite sure why you are arguing?

Because it frustrates me how fixated cyclists on these forums are about death and injury. It is simply bizarre and not healthy for the expansion of the sport. As previously pointed out, these attitudes don't exist in other sports with far higher objective danger.

I am passionate about promoting and encouraging cycling. You can see this in the other discussions on this forum. Cycling will never grow if people exaggerate the risks involved. This is a cycling forum, everyone is free to discuss ID and I'm free to comment on it.

RonK wrote:So you are claiming that information on a road id about medical conditions, blood type, drug allergies etc - these will not improve survivability?

No I haven't claimed that. If you have a strong medical reason to have that information to improve medical outcomes then by all means do so. But such reasons would just as likely apply to pedestrians, motorists, indoor soccer players, kayakers, office workers etc.

Last edited by human909 on Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

ozzymac wrote:I too would love to know what other sports you partake in where you are by yourself and has higher risks than cycling?

You do read the fatalities section?

I don't consider cycling a "high risk sport". The risk is not dramatically different from motoring but that is an activity that everybody in this country considers normal. Obviously there are elevated risks in both activities from sitting in your office chair but it isn't a dramatic high risk for either. There is something wrong with the attitude towards cycling if it is seen as high risk!

I cycle, my sister cycles, my mother cycles every single day. Cycling is growing and it is safe. In most other places in the world it is considered normal, certainly not high risk. I live in a suburb where a quarter of all trips are made by bike, the highest in the country.

What more dangerous sports do I partake in? Well skiing is one that I am sometimes by myself. Mountain biking. Rock climbing I have climbed in other countries with a recently met partner which I am only on first name basis with. I've hiked by myself, though it is my preference not to.

So, the other sports you mentioned that you might do... On those occasions did you not have some sort of I'd? No wallet etc.

As for other sports mentioned in by Il pardone..... How many get killed surfing, paragliding etc?

I don't carry id because I think cycling is more dangerous than any other sport, I carry it just so they know who I am in case I stack it or anything else that might happen when I am cycling alone in a very rural area.

No big drama really.

If people are happy to cycle without any id that's up to them. But I do remember reading on this forum a few times of cyclists waiting to be identified after being hit while out cycling. And i might actually get to go for a ride with my id if the sun stays out in sunny Queensland....

I have been riding for years, mostly off the road MTB and recently years added regular commuting. In that time I've had a fews handfuls of stacks, and a handful of stacks that could have resuled in a significant injury and one that required a trip to the ER and one that smashed a helmet. I ride more cautiously now as the body doesn't heal as quick but am not in denial that one slip could cause another stack.

If I decided to detour on the way to work and knock out a quick lap of some MTB stuff which resulted in a stack rendering me unable to call for assistance I don't think anyone would start looking for me for quite a few hours. Work assuming I'm not in until late, wife not expecting me back home until after work. In the event that a good samaritan does find me then it will be easier to work out who to notify by me carying ID. I usually leave a note when I go the long way but I should also work out a more effective way of notifying where I am headed.

I don't expect that will happen. I don't believe cycling is dangerous, but know what is possible.

bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

I think you end up contrary to some (myself included ) on this forum 909 because your style of cycling appears different to some on here? Someone who lives in an inner city suburb and commutes around that locale primarily (that is the impression I get from your posts anyway) faces different needs and risks than those who cycle often alone, over longer distances on the open road.

In any case, I have attended numerous cyclists as part of my job, my anecdotal evidence is that it is dangerous unfortunately. I can think of four seriously injured ( one a quadraplegic) cyclists from my own locale, over the last 6 months. One of our previous neighbours was killed by a drunk driver when hit from behind.

There are risks when cycling just as there are in many of lifes activities as you have pointed out. This forum is great in that it helps make others aware of risks faced when cycling and how to minimise and mitigate them.

warthog1 wrote:I think you end up contrary to some (myself included ) on this forum 909 because your style of cycling appears different to some on here?

Most definitely.

warthog1 wrote:Someone who lives in an inner city suburb and commutes around that locale primarily (that is the impression I get from your posts anyway) faces different needs and risks than those who cycle often alone, over longer distances on the open road.

Also most definitely. But I wouldn't say the external risks that others here face are much higher or lower than the ones I face. Currently I'm riding ~20km a day these days, so 140km a week. Most is commuting but I do get out on the road in my Lycra on occasion.

As I said my passion encouraging cycling. I don't like to see the risks over stated.

warthog1 wrote:In any case, I have attended numerous cyclists as part of my job, my anecdotal evidence is that it is dangerous unfortunately. I can think of four seriously injured ( one a quadraplegic) cyclists from my own locale, over the last 6 months. One of our previous neighbours was killed by a drunk driver when hit from behind.

It is easy to find similar anecdotal stories from car accidents. The stats suggest that both activities are of the same order of magnitude. If you do 10,000 kilometres a year then cycling has a 0.04% of death, motoring has a 0.01% chance of death. Personally I see that as comparable levels of risk. If you base it on time the activities are comparably risky.

warthog1 wrote:There are risks when cycling just as there are in many of lifes activities as you have pointed out. This forum is great in that it helps make others aware of risks faced when cycling and how to minimise and mitigate them.

The only time I have needed ID while cycling was one of the few times I didn't have any on me.

A thread I posted roughly a year ago about someone attempting to assault me. I say attempt because even tho I may have looked like a weedy cyclist in lycra, 17 years in the adf in infantry and having unarmed combat training let the attacker realise that I can handle myself more than sufficiently.

Anyway after I defended myself which involved clobbering this clown I called the police. When they turned up I had no ID to prove who I was. Lucky for me they took my word on who I was and also issue a ticket to the attacker for his illegally parked motor vehicle.

I think the day that people find that a drivers license or similar is too onerous to carry in a jersey is the day they need to have a long hard look at themselves in the mirror. If someone is going to go through your stuff looking for ID, you can bet that the person doing the looking is already having a crap enough day without them having to play "guess the name of the person".

I don't carry ID when I'm out training, only on the commute. I hadn't really thought about it until this thread.

Thing is, if the worst happens its not going to take too long to identify me. My wife will soon ring the police looking for me if I don't turn up that night, and it will be a pretty simple process from there.

Might start to carry a licence so she doesn't have to ID a potentially mangled body, don't really wish her to have to carry that as a last image of me. We don't really look that good in death. Fair chance then that I wont look good, given I'm no oil painting now.

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